Judy Chicago

Nine Fragments from the Delta of Venus, 2004
Color aquatints with letterpress

Paper Dimensions:
10 1/4 x 7 1/2 inches
(26 x 19.1 cm)
Image Dimensions: 
7 1/2 x 5 1/2 inches
(19.1 x 14 cm)

Edition 10 of 45



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Chicago credits the legendary French writer Anaïs Nin with encouraging her to write (and write she did—nine in total). This box set is a visual adaptation of Nin’s posthumously published book of erotic short stories Delta of Venus (1977). Chicago’s erotic artworks, when combined in a heart shaped box with Nin’s prose, is a testament to the power of female pleasure, sexuality, and friendship. As Chicago writes in the introduction to the companion book, “Despite the many limitations of Delta of Venus, it remains significant because Anaïs began to break the silence about women’s sexuality, as seen from one woman’s perspective.”


Printed at Segura Press, Mesa, AZ

Collection of Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art, Arizona

A - “Her Sex was like a giant hothouse flower” 2004, Etching and Aquatint on paper


D - “He parted the opening...seeking the tongue”, 2004, Etching and Aquatint on paper


G - “His breath was like...some legendary bull”, 2012, Etching and Aquatint on paper

B - “She crouched over his face”, 2004, Etching and Aquatint on paper


E - “She had never caressed a woman”, 2004, Etching and Aquatint on paper


H - “They were caressing each other with their eyes” 2004, Etching and Aquatint on paper

C - “The flesh walls moved like sea anemones”, 2004, Etching and Aquatint on paper


F - “She kissed it...like some marvelous fruit”, 2004, Etching and Aquatint on paper


I - “She clasped the penis like a mouth”, 2004, Etching and Aquatint on paper